The Tebow Test

As a Denver native, I was not so much surprised when the Broncos drafted Tim Tebow with the 25th pick as dispirited. Anyone would expect Tebow to have a bad time at Mile High Stadium. Football is not only a religion in Colorado, it is a monotheistic faith. The One—John Elway—retired in 1999, and all five quarterbacks since have failed spectacularly.

Can Tebow break the spell? If he does, it will surprise skeptics even more than his high draft position. Sure, he won the Heisman and a national championship and was the first player ever to both pass and rush for more than twenty touchdowns. But in a league where height and arm-strength are paramount, Tebow’s six-foot-three frame is borderline and his throwing motion suspect.

Here’s why it will work: Tebow survived the furor over his Super Bowl ad for Focus on the Family—and plenty of Coloradoans will respect him for his stance, even if they don’t agree with it. The state is a strange blend of Conservative Christians, peace activists, environmentalists, and libertarians—but the overriding ethic is to take a position and stick with it.

On the field, Tebow has a quality that reminds the Broncos’ head coach, Josh McDaniels, of the quarterback he mentored before coming to Denver—the Patriots’ Tom Brady. Brady may be an inch taller and have a better arm, but Tebow has quicker feet. And both have a drive to win. None of the other Bronco quarterbacks of the past dozen seasons had won a championship. Tebow knows how. He also knows that winning is the only way to get out of Elway’s shadow.